Noble Group share trading halted pending statement

[SINGAPORE] Trading in shares of Noble Group was halted on Wednesday, just days after the commodities trader said it was very close to reaching final terms with a group of senior creditors to restructure its debt.

The Singapore-listed company asked for the trading halt pending the release of a statement.

Embattled Noble has been negotiating a US$3.4 billion debt-for-equity swap - crucial to its survival - after selling billions of dollars of assets, taking hefty writedowns and cutting hundreds of jobs over the past three years.

The Hong Kong-headquartered firm, which reported a US$4.9 billion loss for 2017, also said on Monday that it had opted not to pay the coupon on a US$750 million bond which was due last week. Noble has a US$379 million bond that matures on March 20.

REUTERS